How to Handle Holiday Stressors/ Tough Family Dynamics
While the holidays signify togetherness, relaxation, great food, and presents galore, the holidays may also exacerbate family conflicts, expectations, financial stressors, health stressors. Here are a few ways to manage your stress and challenging family interactions:
Having differing political views and values from family members could really put a wrench in the atmosphere. Know that while healthy debate can be useful, turning the entire week together into a fight and trying to convince your parents that they are wrong will not change their minds, and will just make your holidays unbearable. Try to strike a balance.
Take a break. Go for a walk, call a friend you trust, hide in the bathroom and breathe for a few minutes- take some space from all the potential chaos.
Spend some time each day doing something you love. Since school is on break and hopefully you will not have much to work on, engage in activities that have been on hold- read, draw, knit, move your body.
Have a family member join you on a physical endeavor. Get into nature, take a walk, go for a snowy hike; this can be a good way to catch up with each other without having to experience cabin fever.
Validate yourself. Know your triggers and create a plan for how to bounce back. Maybe your mom always tells you that she wishes you went to medical school, or a cousin always reminisces about how good you used to be at track, what happened?! Expect the usual triggers to creep in, and be gentle and kind with yourself to handle these situations with grace and without beating yourself up.
Get off social media. Everyone likes to present their holidays, the meal they cooked, their matching Christmas sweaters with their partners, their tree.. as perfect. No one is posting the challenging conversations, the “less than” feelings, the meal from Boston Market instead of homemade. Give yourself time to get present with your people, rather than comparing to those whose holidays may look prettier (and remember that if they were as happy and present as they were presenting as, they wouldn’t necessarily be posting!)
Stick to your routines. Always start the day drinking a glass of water, do you bike to class every day, do you get off your phone an hour before bedtime? Whatever healthy habits you typically have, continue them throughout the holidays to feel your best and not feel like you have to “start over” when you come back to real life.
Journal. See below.
